Unlucky Black Lily (Reworking)
by 0PinkLemonade0
Summary: Being forced to move and go to a new school is difficult. You have to make new friends and build trust. Cole was accepted into a group on the first day and along the way he developed a crush for one of his friends. As he continues his year at the school almost everything starts to go downhill. (Chapters are being replaced, I'll tell you when it's done!)
1. Chapter One: A New Beginning

**Chapter One: A New Beginning**

 _Being transferred to a new school is one of the worst things that could happen. You have to restart everything. This means you have to find new friends, go over things you've already learned and deal with the harassment and bullying all over again. It's a cursed process that a lot of children go through._

 _Cole Brookstone has just turned sixteen, his father got a new job in Ninjago City due to his excellent theatrical skills._

 _Cole, on the other hand didn't have any of those skills. He couldn't sing, he couldn't dance. Even though his father would tell him he was brilliant at it, Cole never believed him. As far as he knew he could only draw._

 _The boy used art as a way to escape the reality of life. It didn't matter what it was. Whatever came to his mind he'd draw it, whether it was a white wonderland of snow filled with wild animals and large pine trees drizzled in frost or an isolated house in the middle of a foggy forest that holds deep secrets, he didn't care…_

 _Creating art was the way Cole released his emotions, it was his venting system._

 _Sighing in annoyance, Cole rolled over slowly in his silky sheets. He despised the fact that he woke up and that he now has to go to school. He went around Ninjago city and visited a few of their secondary schools. His father decided to pick the worst one. He disliked the look of almost everyone there, they all looked stuck up and really horrible._

" _Cole!" His father bellowed from downstairs, his obnoxious voice bouncing off the crimson walls. The raven haired teen let out a grunt of disrespect. "Cole, get up. Now!" He yelled once more, forcing Cole to roll his eyes and groggily get up. As he climbed out of his warm bed, he thought about how terrible today would be._

 _Cole always had a knack for thinking negatively. He raised his arms towards the ceiling, clicking a few bones. He spun on his heels and began to get dressed._

 _This school, for some reason, had a uniform. Not that Cole wasn't used to that. Almost all schools in England have a uniform and ridiculous dress code. On a personal level, Cole thought that the uniform had too much red and black. It made him seem like the biggest emo._

 _Cole was taught in a private school, he hated it but he took what he could get. He was used to strict teachers so if his teachers were strict he'd have the upper hand. Maybe._

 _As Cole buttoned up his pure white shirt, he glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked like he'd just crawled from a ditch, half dead. He sighed and slipped his deep red tie on. He then put on his black blazer, the edges of the collar had a red line going around it as did the cuffs on the blazer. He hated this uniform, he slipped on his trousers, socks and then looked around for his hair brush. He always ended up flinging it somewhere. He found it and brushed his hair into his usual side swept style._

 _He dashed downstairs, his father still calling him. "You better be up!" his father exclaimed as Cole walked into the kitchen. Their kitchen was cozy, it's colour palette was black and white. Cole sighed and pulled out a stool and sat on it, he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the marble kitchen side. He was feeling awfully nervous. He was worried about not making friends and going through the struggle of being bullied again._

 _Last time Cole was bullied, he ended up getting into a huge fight. He came out of it with a broken arm and a lot of black and blue bruises. After that, Cole became some sort of delinquent. His private school went on a riot just as Cole's father got his new job, thank god for that._

 _When Cole became a delinquent he gained respect from a lot of people, although he wasn't an extreme delinquent he just became cold and harsh towards everyone to protect himself. He wouldn't beat people up randomly, he was just rude. Very rude._

 _He's been trying to change since they moved, although he's not sure how that's going. On the outside Cole seems sweet and kind, he seems like a great target to pick on but really he's ready to take anything and protect anyone. Even though he's insecure and anxious on the inside, he'll still do anything to protect those he loved._

 _That was the good side of Cole, a side that not many people saw._

 _Lou was watching Cole in silence, as he pulled various faces whilst in thought. "Cole, are you okay?" Lou asked, making Cole snap out of thought._

 _The boy looked at his father in confusion for a second before answering. "No." he mumbled in a monotone voice. "I'm not." He rested his head in the palm of his hand and stared out the window, some children from his school were already making their way. Cole grumbled, "Do I have to go? Can't you just home school me?"_

 _Lou scowled at his son, "No. I have work, you know this." He raised an eyebrow at his son. "I don't like your attitude."_

 _Cole scoffed, rolling his eyes and sitting up straight. "I don't care! You forced me here." He exclaimed, he was already angry at it wasn't even eight in the morning yet._

 _The older man stared at his son in slight disbelief. "Don't talk to me like that. I already told you it was for a good cause."_

" _No, it wasn't!" Cole blurted back at his father, his pent up anger slowly boiling over. "I lost all my friends! I'm going to a public school now, do you know how horrible those kids are?" Cole pointed to the window, as a few students from his school walked by. They didn't live too far away from his new school._

 _The raven haired teen had a very short temper as of recent. Usually Cole was patient and polite._

 _Shaking his head, Lou took a sip from his coffee. "Cole, you're going to that school whether you like it or not."_

 _Cole groaned and banged his head on the table. He then stood up and pushed himself away from the marble side, storming off into the hallway. His father sighed as Cole paced the hallway, debating going to school._

 _Since Cole didn't live far from the school he had to walk. He took a deep breath, 'It won't be that bad. All I have to do is go into the school tell them I'm new and they'll take over from there.' he thought to himself, nodding._

 _He adjusted his tie and then grabbed his backpack. He packed it the night before so he knew he had everything._

 _He swung open the door and took another deep breath, staring at the ground. His father walked up behind him and cleared his throat. "You'll be fine." He muttered._

" _Don't talk to me." Cole spat, walking off._

 _Lou shook his head and he watched his son walk off, in a mood._

 _The air was different from England. Although it felt more welcoming, Cole didn't feel welcomed at all. Slowly, Cole made his way down the concrete path that lead towards the school gates._

 _A few seconds later a kid wearing the same school uniform as him flew by on a skateboard, startling him. Cole observed him for a few seconds before he walked into the school grounds. He walked past a group of people, he could tell the school had a small amount of students._

 _Cole tried not to look like he was rushing, but he was. His heart pounded in his chest, bouncing off his ribs. Hastily, he made his way into the building. He was attempting to not draw attention to himself, he found the reception after looking for roughly five minutes._

 _He walked into the reception area, a lady with blonde hair and glasses looked at him, smiling. "Hiya, are you okay? You look rather distressed."_

 _Cole paused for a moment, was it that obvious?_

" _Uh, hi." He mumbled. "I'm new here and I don't know...what...I'm...doing…" He chuckled nervously as he walked up to her desk._

 _The lady giggled, which made Cole wonder if she was mocking him. "You must be Cole."_

 _He nodded slowly, "That's me."_

 _The lady started typing on her computer, "Don't you worry, we've already got everything sorted for you." She informed him, her printer started up. She waited in silence and then pulled out a piece of paper and handed him it in a sassy manner._

" _These are you lessons." She smiled as Cole took the paper, "You did pick, Art, music and psychology, right?" She questioned._

 _Cole observed the paper for a second, he then nodded. "Yeah, I did."_

" _Great! Those are your courses, as you know Maths, Science and English are required."_

 _Cole nodded again, he didn't like this ladies voice. It was annoying him slightly. She then said something about a map being on the back of his timetable. Cole walked off and went to find his first class._

 _He forgot to say thank you to the lady. The boy adjusted his backpack so it sat comfortably, and began searching. "Room, 7B." he whispered to himself, looking at the signs on the doors. He noticed that he was at 6A, he followed the hallway making he was around to room 7A. The hallways were awfully silent. He assumed that everybody was sitting outside or didn't like to be in the halls at this time. Cole looked up to see the kid from earlier who was on his skateboard. He observed him for a second, he was texting rather rapidly on his phone, he would then stop and smile at it. He also had his earphones in, bopping his head to music. His skateboard was underneath his arm._

 _His hair was spiked up, it was chestnut brown. Cole tilted his head slightly, he was now staring for too long. He sighed and began to walk past the kid, who looked up at him and smiled, he took out his earphones and put them in his pocket. "Hey."_

 _Cole froze on the spot and turned to him. He wasn't expecting that. "Hi…" he mumbled, becoming awfully shy. He noticed that the kid had a scar over his right eye and a plaster over his left eyebrow. His eyes were deep red, something Cole hadn't really seen before. Maybe in movies but never in real life. He was also taller than Cole._

" _You're new here, aren't ya?" He asked, his voice sounded a bit gruff. Although Cole got a sense of comfort from his voice._

 _He nodded, smiling slightly._

" _I'm Kai." He grinned, he held out his fist for Cole to bump._

 _The teen bumped his fist and chuckled nervously, "I'm Cole."_

" _Nice to meet you." Kai put his fist down after Cole bumped it. "When'd you move here?"_

 _Cole pursed his lips for a second, thinking. "About a week or two ago." He answered, a blank and dull look on his face._

" _You really don't look too happy about that." He pointed out, his eyebrows raised._

 _Cole scratched the back of his next, he wanted to tell the kid his entire backstory but that would be too much. "Yeah, I didn't want to move." he explained, "My dad got some job here, with some company thing called the 'royal blacksmiths'." he made air quotations._

" _Woah." Kai blurted, he sounded rather surprised. He had leaned off the wall and put his skateboard down, turning his full attention to Cole._

" _What?" Cole asked, tilting his head. He thought he'd done something wrong._

" _Royal Blacksmiths? Really? Dude, your dad is so lucky. They are one of the best theatrical groups in Ninjago City!" He exclaimed, his red eyes lighting up._

" _Oh, really?" Cole questioned, he didn't know that._

" _Hell, yeah!" Kai beamed, unable to stay still. He chortled, causing Cole to snicker a little too._

 _Cole enjoyed being around this guy. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought._

 _Kai was smiling widely at Cole, like an idea just crossed his mind. "I need to introduce you to my friends because I can tell already that we are going to be great friends." He crossed his arms and smirked._

 _Cole blushed a little, he's never been complimented before. At least not like that. "Oh, really...thanks." He ran his fingers through his hair._

 _The chestnut haired boy checked his phone, "We have twenty minutes, come with me." Kai gestured for Cole to follow him. The boy picked up his skateboard and lead the way._

 _Happily, Cole tagged along following the red eyed boy onto the playground. The playground was packed with all the students. The hallways were like a ghost town._

 _Leading Cole to an Oak tree, Kai peered around the corner. They were now at the back of the school. There was a large oak tree and a chain link fence. On the other side of the fence was a field filled with flowers._

" _Our group hangs out here because it's quieter, we're not the ones for big crowds and noise." He explained, pushing a few rogue branches away, Cole copied. Once they got through the branches they came to clearing. The grass was light green, with daisies scattered as if they were mother nature's freckles._

 _Four people were sitting together, laughing._

" _Hey guys!" Kai yelled, waving. "I brought a new recruit."_

" _Recruit?" Cole repeated, awfully confused. He looked over at the other four who stared at him. The raven haired boy gulped he didn't want to be here anymore._

 _Kai dragged Cole over to them, he then sat down in the circle and pulled Cole down with him. Awkwardly, the raven haired boy smiled at the rest of them. "Guys, this is Cole." Kai chirped, gesturing towards his new friend. They all nodded, Cole waved shyly._

" _Cole, this is Zane." Kai pointed to a tall boy with pale hair that stuck up. He had icy blue eyes and a fatherly broad smile that brought Cole the feeling of compassion. He was fiddling with the daisies on the ground, he came across as a pacifist and the voice of reason._

" _Greetings." He said in a quiet and polite voice. Cole waved at him, giving him a smile._

" _This is Lloyd." Kai continued, pointing to a blonde boy. He had emerald green eyes. He had medium length hair that was wavy. He was smaller than Kai and Zane, at least sitting down he was. He had his phone in his hand and a huge welcoming grin. He seemed to be a good team player. "Yo." he saluted Cole._

" _This is my little sister, Nya. She's the best." Kai said, pointing to her. She had long hair, tied up into a messy ponytail. She had a small mole on the side of her face, just under her ocean blue eyes. She nodded at Cole. She seemed relaxed and cool. She also seemed like nothing bothered her and she would just punch you if you annoyed her. Cole got a vibe off her that she was popular with the boys but not in a bad way._

" _And finally, this is Jay." Kai gestured to a smaller boy with dark curly brown hair. He had large electric blue eyes that stood out to Cole. He seemed slightly smaller than Cole. One of the first things Cole noticed was his freckles and how they dotted his face just under his eyes. He seemed anxious but affectionate and caring, like the kinda person Cole needs around him at this point in time. He made Cole feel comfortable and he hadn't even said a word, yet. "Hello…" he mumbled, pushing his index fingers together. Cole smiled at him and watched as he fiddled with one of the curls by his ear._

" _I'm guessing you're new here." Lloyd said, leaning back on his hands. Cole nodded, wondering if these guys could really be his new friends. "Yeah, I moved here about two weeks ago with my dad."_

" _Where are you from?" Nya asked, giving him a small smile. "You have an accent."_

" _Oh, England." Cole mumbled, he didn't realise that he had an accent since almost everybody sounds the same in England. "It's not the greatest place."_

" _Aw, that's a shame. I've always wanted to go to England." Jay piped up, looking slightly disappointed._

 _Cole felt slightly bad. "I mean, it can be great sometimes. We have cool events every now and then."_

 _Jay's smile appeared back onto his face. "Really?"_

 _Cole nodded._

" _I really want to see Big Ben, The London Eye! Oh, the theme parks that are there!" Jay got all giddy, his group of friends were smiling at him._

 _Cole looked at Jay's smile, noticing he had braces. The light reflected off of them. "Okay, the theme parks are really cool." Cole said._

" _I need to go." Jay giggled._

 _Cole grinned, "I'm going back to England at some point this year. I'll bring you a souvenir."_

" _Or you could just take me." Jay joked, making Cole chortle._

" _I'll take you instead then." Cole smiled, Jay giggled again._

 _Lloyd glanced between the two, he was happy that they were getting along. Playing with the daisy chain he was making, Zane spoke up "Did you ever go to the theme parks, Cole?"_

 _Grinning, Cole answered, "Yeah, I've been to Thorpe Park, Drayton Manor and Alton Towers." He counted on his fingers, holding up three of them._

" _How are they?" Nya asked, "I've always wanted to go too."_

" _They are so cool, there's so many roller coasters and the food is great." Cole rambled slightly. "I used to go quite a bit with my friends…" the boy trailed off. His heart sank. He fell silent. He glanced at the ground, his large smile completely gone._

 _Glancing over at his sister, Kai understood how Cole felt._

" _Hey, are you okay?" Nya asked, tilting her head._

 _Cole snapped out of his trace, "Oh." his voice was mellow, dull, it had no emotion. "Yeah, sorry about that, I'm fine." he mumbled with a fake brittle smile._

" _Kai and I understand how you feel, we moved here from a different part of Ninjago." She explained, "We didn't fit in until we met these guys, we miss our old friends too." she smiled, sweetly. He stared at her for a little bit, before smiling at her. "Thanks, it's nice to know that people understand me. I thought I'd be coming here as an outcast." he looked off at the field behind the chain link fence, he watched the wind silently kiss the daisies. He felt a firm grip on his shoulder, he turned slowly to see Kai giving him a comforting smile, "It's okay dude. You'll fit in with us." he assured him, "we're not the ones to judge."_

 _The bell for school rang through the fields, piercing Cole's ear. "Thanks, Kai." he muttered, after the bell finished screaming. The six of them got up simultaneously. Walking besides Cole, Jay decided to try make him feel slightly better. "Hey, man don't worry about fitting in here. I'll try look after you." he said with a large smile._

" _Really?" Cole questioned, slightly surprised._

 _The smaller boy nodded, "I got you." he nudged Cole slightly._

 _The other boy chuckled in response, "Thanks, Jay."_

" _Hey, what lesson do you have first?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head to the side. Cole turned to him, thinking for a moment. "I think I have psychology first."_

" _Oh, sweet!" Jay said, "I do too, who's your teacher?" he asked, suddenly really excited._

 _Pulling out his timetable sheet, Cole paused. "Uh-" he frowned slightly, "Mrs. Adams." he mumbled, "she sounds boring." He raised a bushy eyebrow and then watched as his new friend snickered._

" _She is." They said simultaneously._

" _You're in my class." Jay smiled, "see, this is already working out great for you. You have five new friends and me in your first class."_

" _Wow, what an honour." Lloyd mocked, grinning at Jay who turned to him._

" _Hey! I'll kick your ass!" he stuck his tongue out at the taller boy, who in response flipped his hair and chortled._

 _Cole laughed at them too, along with Zane and the others._

 _He felt so much better already._

' _You know, maybe I will fit in just fine.' He thought to himself, smiling._


	2. Chapter Two: Building Friendships

Chapter Two: Building Friendships.

Jay took Cole to his first class. "You can sit next to me." He said. "It'll be less awkward for you that way." He opened the door and froze. The whole class was going insane.

Paper planes flew at the speed of light across the classroom, chairs were being stood on. Desks were being danced on. A group of girls screamed their hearts out to loud music. Boys were fighting each other. It was hectic.

Jay looked over his shoulder, "If anyone stares at you, don't say anything. And uh- it's pretty loud in here."

"I know, I can hear shouting," Cole whispered.

Jay walked in, Cole behind him.

He ducked under paper planes and weaved his way through people. He sat down beside Jay, who was watching the others in amusement.

Cole felt nervous suddenly, he sunk down in his chair. The class was scary when the teacher wasn't there.

'Maybe I should take this chance to find out more about Jay..' Cole thought to himself, was that a good idea?

"So…" Cole rested his head in his hand and faced Jay. "How long have you been friends with the others?"

Jay brushed some of his curly hair behind his ear. "Well, I've been friends with Lloyd since nursery and I've been friends with Zane since primary and Kai and Nya, I've been friends with since the start of this school."

"Are closest with Lloyd?" Cole asked.

Jay nodded, "Yeah I tell him everything." He smiled. "It's good to have someone I can talk to."

Cole agreed with Jay.

"What about you, what were your friends like?" He paused for a moment. "I-If you don't mind me asking!" He stammered.

"Oh. Well, my friends were great. They listened to and helped me out. I could tell them anything." He looked down at his desk, making an invisible circle on the wood with his index finger. "I miss them but I know they'll forget me."

"Forget you?" Jay questioned. "Why would they forget you?" He watched Cole's finger circle the desk. He could tell he was upset.

"I wasn't really anyone special. I was like, the background friend but they still mean a lot to me." Cole ran his fingers through his dark hair, his heart sank again. The feeling of losing what he had made him feel alone.

Jay couldn't imagine how that felt.

He patted Cole on the back, "It's okay. You have us now, I'm sorry for asking."

"No, no. It's not your fault. It's okay." Cole gave him a fake smile. "I'm just unlucky that I had to move but lucky that I made new friends." He said.

Jay chuckled. "You're pretty lucky to have five friends on the first day"

Cole laughed, "You're right. I am pretty lucky."

Both of them chuckled lightly.

Cole enjoyed Jay's company. He felt a connection to him.

He also liked Jay's laugh.

'His laugh is sweet.' He randomly thought to himself. He mentally slapped himself. 'What kind of thought was that?' He asked himself as the two of them stopped snickering.

They gazed at each other for a moment.

"Hey! Walker." A voice bellowed as hands slammed on the desk. Scaring the soul out of Cole. Jay looked up at the figure. He had brown hair, sinister green eyes, and a horrible grin.

"Callum." Jay raised his eyebrows, his voice trembling slightly.

"Who's this kid?" He glared at Cole for a moment and then took his nasty glare back to Jay.

"This is Cole," Jay stated quietly. "Why?"

"Are you new here? Cole?" He hissed, ignoring Jay. His intention was to be as horrible as possible.

"Yeah..." Cole mumbled.

"What was that?" He spat. "Speak up!"

Cole frowned. "I said, yeah." He repeated a hint of attitude in his voice.

Who does this guy think he is?

"Don't speak to me like that newbie." He leaned towards Cole. Getting into his face. "You look pathetic and tiny. You'll get nowhere here."

Cole couldn't help but smirk, he didn't say anything.

Jay cleared his throat, "Callum, this isn't needed."

"Shut it, Walker!" He snapped at Jay. "You keep your stupid mouth shut before I hurt you, just like last time." He licked his lips, making Jay scoot back in his chair.

"Hey! Don't talk to him like that." Cole stood up out of his seat. "Who do you think you are?" He asked, scowling at Callum.

The room went silent at the sound of Cole raising his voice.

Whispers swirled around the room.

"Who's that?"

"Is he standing up to Callum?"

"He's going to be beaten up."

"Is he okay?"

Callum snorted. "You're sticking up for him? You've just met him. I wouldn't bother with this piece of garbage."

Cole shook his head. "Your insults are lacking." He paused to think for a moment.

"Yes, I've just met him but who cares? I'm not going to sit here and let you speak to him that way. He's done nothing to you." he stated as he pointed towards Callum.

He paused for a moment to let Callum reply but he didn't. "I mean, you come over here with nobody else and you're insulting me and you're insulting Jay. For what? Do you need attention? Is mummy not giving you enough cuddles at home? Awww, what a shame…" Cole cooed, he then titered. "And you called me pathetic."

He stopped and grinned slyly at Callum.

Jay sat there with his jaw dropped.

Callum looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to say something. But what do you say to that?

"Good morning everyone." Mrs. Adams rushed in. "Sorry that I'm late. Traffic was awful. Callum sit down."

Callum growled at Cole and sat in his seat.

Cole sat back down and brought out his notepad. He stared at Callum for a bit. The bully turned around in his seat and cut across his neck with his thumb and then pointed at Cole.

The raven-haired teen rolled his eyes. He's dealt with worse.

As Mrs. Adams switched on her computer, Jay tapped Cole.

"I'm amazed." He whispered to Cole. "That was just amazing."

Cole blushed lightly. "It was nothing, I wasn't going to let him talk to you that way."

"And I said I'd look after you." Jay chuckled quietly.

Cole giggled. "Pfft. I don't like bullies." He grinned mischievously. "I won't take that from anyone."

Jay looked at him sweetly. He then turned back to Mrs. Adams.

Cole watched Jay tap his pencil against the table lightly.

There's something about him, that he just can't put his finger on.

After Class, Jay took Cole back to where Kai took him before.

"Guys! You'll never guess what Cole did!" Jay ran towards his friends, Cole not far behind.

Both of them had large gummy grins on their faces as if they were on a sugar rush.

Jay sat down, Cole besides him.

"What did he do?" Lloyd asked, excited.

Jay took a deep breath and began to explain what happened in psychology.

The whole group whooped and praised Cole.

"Really?" Lloyd asked as he laughed. "Oh my god. That's awesome."

"Cole you're sick." Kai nudged Cole's arm. "Nya has been the only one to stand up to him, now you have!" He chuckled. "That's great."

Cole blushed and thanked them.

"It was nothing, just helping out a friend." He looked over at Jay, who beamed at him.

"Bro, I'd be careful though. He likes to get revenge." Nya warned Cole. "Will you be able to handle him?"

"I'll be fine. I'm sure." Cole said. "He didn't seem too, bad." He shrugged, thinking about what Callum did with his thumb. Cole smiled at Nya.

"I like you." She chuckled. "You got fight in ya'." She punched his arm lightly.

"Thank you." Cole giggled, finally feeling like he's been accepted.

"Did anything else happen after that?" Nya questioned.

Jay shook his head. "Not really. He made this gesture." Jay repeated the actions that Callum did. "To Cole." He then blinked a few times. "Which is bad?" He sounded confused.

Zane snickered. "I don't think Callum will try to do anything. He was trying to make himself seem superior."

"Well, it didn't work." Cole shrugged. "I'm not afraid of him." He smirked.

"It's good that you're not afraid of him. Hopefully, he does not trouble you too much." Zane said as he looked at his daisy chain.

Nya crossed her arms, "Even if he does trouble you, I'll beat him up." She said as she flexed an arm. "I've done it before and I'll do it again." She chortled.

Everybody else laughed in response.

"Go on sis'!" Kai cheered her on. "It's alright Cole, he won't trouble you."

"He better not," Cole demanded. "Does he trouble you guys often?" Cole asked, watching Zane place his daisy chain on Jay's head.

"He picks on Jay the most," Lloyd informed him. "Because Jay has a softer look compared to the rest of us." He said, gesturing towards Jay.

Cole looked over at Jay, who was thanking Zane for the daisy chain. Lloyd was right. He did have a soft look.

He examined him.

His curly brown hair hung just over his eyes. His eyes were innocent and curious. His freckles were...cute. The daisy chain brought out his smile. His innocent and sweet smile. His braces gave him the geeky look, and Cole...liked that.

Cole ripped his eyes away from Jay.

'I see what he means.' He thought.

Jay giggled. "I'll be fine though." He said. "He'll stop eventually."

"I will make sure he stops," Kai stated. "He can't keep picking on you."

"We'll make sure he stops." Lloyd corrected Kai. "Don't worry Jay you're not going through this alone." Lloyd patted him on the back and gave him a comforting smile.

"Thank you, guys. You're the best." He smiled shyly. He then looked at Cole.

"Actually, Cole I didn't get to thank you early for protecting me...so thank you."

Cole looked at the boy sitting next to him and then smiled. "Aw, it's nothing. I know you'd do the same for me." He ruffled Jay's hair.

Jay giggled and brushed strands of his hair behind his ear. The two gazed at each other for a moment.

"Hey!" A voice yelled.

The six of them turned towards the voice.

A girl with long silver hair walked up to them. "Are you Cole?" She looked at Cole.

Cole stared at her completely confused. "Uhh- yeah…?" He tilted his head to the side. "Why?"

"You stuck up to Callum today right?" She put her hands behind her back and grinned.

Cole nodded and then looked back at Kai for some sort of comfort.

"Sabrina." Kai scowled at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to tell Cole that Callum said he'd be waiting outside school for him." She said whilst flicking her hair to the side.

"Really now?" Nya crossed her arms. "Well, you tell Callum that'll kill him if he touches Cole? Okay?" She said with a furrowed brow.

"Let's not get into any fights." Zane reasoned. "Violence isn't always the answer."

"Zane has a point." Lloyd agreed. "Sabrina, tell Callum that we'll talk to him. No fights."

Sabrina nodded and smiled. She spun on her heels and skipped away.

Cole looked over at Lloyd in confusion. "Who...was that?" He asked.

"That was Sabrina Reynold. Callum's girlfriend." Nya stated. "She's annoying and petty. She's dated almost every guy in the school."

"Wow." Is all Cole could say.

"Yeah, Callum is super protective of her. Any guy who talks to her is dead." Jay mentioned.

"How'd she know about this spot?" Cole asked whilst picking some daisies.

"She used to date Kai," Nya grumbled. "She then cheated on him with two different dudes."

Kai sighed. He looked off into the distance. Nya tapped him on the shoulder and offered him a hug, which he took.

"She isn't the best person," Nya mumbled.

Cole watched in silence as Nya consoled her brother. He silently wished that he had a sibling.

"Do you guys have any siblings?" Cole asked, changing the subject.

Zane smiled, nodding. "Yes, I have a brother. A younger one. His name is Echo."

"Echo?" Cole repeated. "That's a really cool name." He grinned.

"I don't have any siblings." Lloyd shrugged. "Neither does Jay."

Jay nodded.

"Oh, so I'm not alone," Cole said. "I've always wanted a sibling." He looked over at Nya and Kai. "Then I wouldn't have to suffer alone all the time."

Kai chuckled softly. "Having a sibling is great until they annoy you."

Nya gasped. "I am not annoying!"

Kai laughed. "You are a little." He pinched the air.

Nya shook her head and punched him playfully on the arm.

"So, do you guys think Sabrina will lead Callum here?" Lloyd questioned.

"I hope not." Zane pleaded. "It is peaceful here. Having a trainwreck such as Callum would be a negative." He kindly stated.

Jay agreed with him. "What if he does wait for Cole?"

"He will but we'll be there too," Lloyd smirked.

Cole felt his heart flutter. "You guys are going to...protect me?"

"Hell yeah!" Kai's fist pumped the air. "We'll talk to him or kick his ass."

The six of them laughed. All of them becoming closer by the second.

After break, Jay showed Cole his next class. Art.

Cole thanked him at the door and went in.

As he opened the door he examined the room. Everyone had their own individual desk. Which Cole liked. He loved being able to draw without anyone too close. It gave him that sense of freedom. Having people peer over him whilst he's drawing makes him feel judged,

Cole took the empty desk at the back. He watched as the class filled in one by one. The teacher was a female. She looked really nice.

She saw him and walked over.

"You're Cole?" She queried.

He nodded and smiled.

"Ah, okay good. Here." She handed him a binder and a folder. "You can store everything in here." She then knelt by his desk. "We're doing practice sketches of landscapes. I'll explain everything in a moment."

Cole nodded with understanding and watched as she went back to her desk and settled everyone down.

As she explained things, Cole began to write down ideas of what landscapes to draw. He had a million ideas bursting at the seams.

After she finished explaining, Cole took his pencil to paper and began to create.

He let his heart draw.

He loved drawing.

After thirty minutes had passed, Cole had a sketch. He had a sketch of a wintery woods and a cottage sitting alone within the mist of the forest. He smiled at his creation. He clicked his knuckles and let his eyes wander.

He saw Sabrina sitting two seats from him. She looked up and smiled at him. Cole smiled back awkwardly and then looked back down at his paper. He got a strange feeling from her. Something was off.

He glanced at her again, she was looking at him.

'Why is she looking at me?' He smiled at her and then looked away. 'Weird'

After Class, Cole went to meet up with Kai to take Music.

"Hey, hey!" Kai greeted Cole as he approached the music class. He gave Cole a high five.

"Word of warning, Callum is in this class. I won't let him do anything, don't worry." He assured.

Cole nodded.

The two of them walked into class. Cole's eyes instantly rested upon Callum first. He didn't see Cole, which was good.

Kai asked one of his friends if Cole could sit next to him. His friend looked up at Cole.

"Oh hey, I'm Jaydn." He waved.

Cole smiled and greeted him back.

"Any friend of Kai's is a friend of mine." Jaydn stood up and shook Cole's hand. "Our teacher is strict, don't mess around too much." He winked at Cole and sat down next to another one of his friends.

Cole took his seat next to Kai. "You know a lot of people don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda popular. A lot of people respect me and I respect everyone else." Kai paused and then smirked. "Unless they cross me. Such as Callum." He gestured to Callum. "Here watch this." He nudged Cole.

Kai pulled a straw from his backpack, he then tore out a small piece of paper from his book and rolled them up into tiny balls. He then pulled out some glue and covered them in it. "Spitballs, minus the spit." He whispered.

Cole tried not to laugh at what Kai was going to do.

Kai loaded up the straw, aimed it at the back of Callum's head and blew.

About six glue balls hit his head. Kai then quickly hid the straw in his pencil case.

Cole covered his mouth and looked down at his paper. He was muffling his laughs.

Callum rubbed the back of his head and growled.

"Smith." He hissed.

Kai cocked an eyebrow at him and gave him a sarcastic smile. "What's the matter, Callum?" He then laughed a little.

"Callum Tennessee." The teacher called. "Is there a problem?" The teacher placed their hands on their hips and scowled.

"N-No." Callum stuttered.

"Good. Now. Get on with the work." They demanded. The whole class began to talk 'about the work.' Giving Cole and Kai and chance to burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, Kai. You're a genius." Cole chuckled.

Kai snickered. "I'm fun ain't I?" He nudged Cole.

Cole nodded and chortled. "I've never seen anything like that before. In my old school, if someone did that they'd get kicked out."

"Kicked out?" Kai raised his eyebrows. "That's extreme."

"I know right?" Cole tapped his fingers on the desk rhythmically. "It was so strict."

"I don't think I'd survive in that school," Kai mentioned.

"You know to be fair, I don't think you would either," Cole smirked.

The two of them laughed. Cole smiled at the thought of having a close friendship with these guys.

He rested his head in his hands as he listened to the teacher.

He doodled on the corner of his page. He found himself drawing a lily. A lily means, purity, and humility. Cole colored the lily in black. What does a black lily mean?

Cole didn't know.

After daydreaming for almost the entire lesson, it finally ends.

Cole and Kai left laughing about what Kai did to Callum.

They made their way round to where they hang out.

Jay was the only one there.

Kai's phone rang. "Oh. Hang on." He answered it. "Oh hey Nya…" He paused. "Yeah sure." He waved to Cole, signaling that he had to go.

Cole nodded and sat in front of Jay.

"Hey dude, you okay?" Cole questioned.

"I could be better." He sighed, he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"What's the matter?" Cole tilted his head to the side.

"Some idiots broke that daisy crown Zane made." Jay sulked. He showed Cole. It was torn into pieces. "They made fun of me for wearing it, told me that 'guys can't wear flowers' and things like that."

Cole frowned. "That's not nice. I'm sure Zane won't mind. He'll understand that it wasn't your fault." He smiled whilst patting Jay's head. "It'll be okay."

Jay smiled at him, his cheeks turning a rosy red. "Thanks, Cole."

Cole got lost in his electric blue eyes for a second, before quickly looking away. "O-Oh. No problem." Then an idea hit Cole. "Hey, you know what? Why don't I make us both another one and we can both wear them and if they pick on either of us I'll say something." Cole grinned.

Jay nodded shyly. "You'd do that?"

"Sure! What class do you have next?" Cole asked.

"English," Jay mumbled.

"If I'm in your class I'll protect you there too." Cole grinned.

He began to pick at the daisies. Putting them together to create a crown. Jay watched silently, a small smile on his face. He really enjoyed being next to Cole.

He just met him but something about him gave him a sense of comfort.

That's a good sign, right?

"Where are the others?" Cole asked.

Jay looked around, "I don't know. They should be here by now." He shrugged.

Cole picked a daisy and added it to the crown. "Maybe they got caught up with something." He mumbled. "I didn't scare them off right?"

"No, no. Of course not. We all really like you." Jay blurted. "Honestly, you're our friend now."

Cole smiled, he finished the first flower crown. "Do you want this one?"

"Did you test it to see if it'll fit?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cole stared blankly at Jay. "Oh." He looked at the crown. "Nope."

"Here I'll test it on you." Jay gently took the crown from Cole's hands. He had a goofy grin on his face. He slowly placed the flower crown on Cole's head. It fit perfectly.

"And?" Cole urged.

Jay stared at him. The daisy crown somehow made him look adorable. They complimented his brown eyes. Cole was smiling at him, making him look even cuter.

The freckled boy snapped out of his trance. "You look cute." He said nervously, pushing his index fingers together.

Cole blushed lightly, his shoulders raised and he smiled, looking away. "T-thanks." He stuttered.

Jay blushed too and he didn't know why.

"I'll make yours now," Cole mumbled as he got to work.

"Hey, guys!" Lloyd yelled. "Sorry that we're late." He apologized as Zane, Nya and Kai followed him.

They all sat down.

"Oh, it's no problem." Jay chuckled.

"What are you guys doing?" Zane asked kindly.

"Well, uhh-" Jay mumbled.

"Where did your flower crown go?" Zane then asked.

Jay gulped. "Oh- uh."

"I'm wearing it." Cole quickly said. "Jay let me wear it." He lied.

Zane smiled. "Oh! That's good."

Jay laughed nervously. "Yeah." He glanced over at Cole, who winked and then smiled at him.

Cole looked at Jay and held up the flower crown. As the others spoke amongst themselves, Jay tried it on. It fit perfectly, just like Cole's.

Jay grinned at Cole, his cheeks bright red. He felt nervous around Cole. He couldn't understand why.

Cole chuckled lightly, taking glances at Jay. If he stared, he'd get lost in his electric blue eyes. Cole couldn't lie to himself he found Jay attractive. Is that normal?

"Hey, guys we should all give Cole our numbers," Kai suggested suddenly.

"What?" Cole questioned.

"Give me your phone. I'll put mine in first." Lloyd held his hand out.

Cole laughed, "Okay…" He dragged on his 'y'. He handed Lloyd his phone.

Lloyd put in his number and passed Cole's phone to Kai.

The phone kept being passed around until it got to Jay.

Jay opened up the contacts, he clicked 'create a new contact.' He typed in his number and his name. Next, to his name, he put a flower emoji. He handed Cole his phone. Cole glanced down at it to see and smiled at the flower emoji. Jay smiled too because Cole did.

The bell rang loudly suddenly, signaling that it was the last lesson.

"Welp, off to English." Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Cole, who's class? Mr. E?"

Cole pulled out his timetable and nodded.

"Oh nice, you're with all of us. Apart from Nya. She's too smart and has the highest class." Kai smiled.

Nya shook her head and stood up. "Off we go."

After walking for a while, the boys made it to their English class. The five of them sat at the back of the class.

The teacher wasn't here yet.

"Do your teachers never show up on time?" Cole asked, laughing.

Kai chuckled. "They take their sweet ass time. "

Jay was sat next to Cole, twiddling his thumbs. He scanned the room to see people looking at him. He sunk down in his chair slightly.

"What's the matter, Jay?" Lloyd asked quietly.

"People are staring at me…" He whispered.

Zane frowned slightly and looked around. People were staring. He looked back at Jay. "Why are they staring?"

"Uh-" Jay gulped.

"People are staring they're assholes," Kai stated. Whilst raising his voice slightly. A few people who were staring turned away quickly when Kai glared around the room.

Cole took a quick glance across the room too. People were staring at him and Jay. This is where he knew someone would say something.

He caught the eye of Callum. He was snickering along with his friends.

'Great, he has friends in this class.' Cole looked away. 'Please, do not come over.'

Callum stood up.

Cole sighed. 'Noooo.' He whined mentally.

His friends stood up and followed him, they stood at Cole's table.

"How's it going boys?"

Jay sunk in his chair.

"What do you want, Callum?" Kai asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Just coming to say hello, is there something wrong with that?" Callum sneered.

"You've come to bother us," Lloyd stated. "It's clear from that look on your face." He crossed his arms in a defensive manner.

Callum's friends behind him snickered.

"Now, now. Let's not get into an argument…" Zane tried to calm the tense situation.

"Shut it!" Callum's spat.

Zane flinched and fell quiet.

"Don't talk to him like that," Lloyd said sternly.

"What are you going to do about it?" One of Callum's friends sneered. "Just because you're the Deputy Headmasters son, it doesn't mean you control us."

"I never implied or said I did," Lloyd mentioned, frowning.

This situation wasn't going to end very well, Cole could tell.

"What's up with these two?" Callum pointed to Cole and Jay. "Both of you look absolutely ridiculous." He and his cronies snickered. "Who walks around wearing dirty flowers in their hair?"

Kai looked over at Cole and Jay, expecting one of them to say something.

Cole turned his attention to Kai, he looked at Kai and then Callum, without moving his head.

Kai nodded, telling Cole silently that he should say something back.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? You were mouthy earlier, why not?" Callum hissed.

Cole sighed with annoyance. "Yet again Callum, coming over here to gain some attention from other people." He then looked around the classroom at all the people staring. "I don't see the point in doing that."

"Attention? I get plenty of attention, I'm one of the best people here. Why do you think I've got the hottest girl on my arm and the strongest people behind me?"

Cole raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to prove here, those statements don't tie in well together."

Jay sunk further down into his seat. He hated confrontations.

Everyone was silent for a moment, whilst Callum and Cole spoke back and forth.

Callum was getting angry, Cole's collectiveness was really grinding his bones.

"Do you think you can roll up into my school, and act as if you're on top of everyone? I don't think so!" Callum raised his voice.

"Your school?" Cole laughed. "Oh my god, you have such a big ego." He couldn't help but laugh whilst speaking. "You're so stupid, oh my god."

Kai looked up at Callum, he had his fists clenched. Kai smiled slightly. "You okay there Callum?"

"Keep your mouth, shut," Callum spoke through gritted teeth.

"Callum, you're actually one of the most self-centered attention seeking idiots I have ever met," Cole stated, rolling his eyes.

"What did you just call him?" One of his friends asked. "Did you just call him an attention seeker? Callum, are you going to take that?"

Cole raised both of his eyebrows.

"Yeah Callum, are you going to take that?" Lloyd mimicked Callum's friend. He shook his head and scoffed.

The room fell silent for a moment.

BANG!

Callum slammed his fists onto the table, making everyone jump. "Come 'ere and say that you little shit! I'll pulverize you!" He bellowed. "You think that just because you have pathetic flaky friends like Jay, you can talk to me like that?"

Cole looked over at Jay, who was quivering in his seat. He didn't like the look on his face. He felt bad.

Cole then frowned and looked at Callum. "Okay, buddy." He stood up from his chair, placed his hands on his desk and took a deep breath. "You have some serious issues." He stated calmly. "You need to calm down and think about what you're saying and what you're about to do."

"Oh, so you're trying to back out now?" Callum growled.

"Back out of what? I didn't ask you to come over here and be an ass! Did I?" Cole scoffed.

"Well, the look on your face and what you did earlier did ask! You knew this was coming." He grinned.

Cole looked Callum up and down. Did he really want to get into a fight on his first day? He looked over at Jay, who was looking up at him.

Cole frowned.

"What's the matter pussy? Callum taunted. "You scared to break your flower crown? Aw, shame."

The class laughed.

It wasn't even funny.

"Come on then Cole, show me how much of a mouth you have. "

Cole was still looking at Jay, he looked so hurt and upset. This made Cole'd heart sink. It made him annoyed. Really annoyed.

"I knew it, you're a pussy. Just like your worthless friends." He sneered. "I could smash your face in within three seconds." He clenched a fist and raised it, causing a few gasps to go around the room.

Cole glared at Callum. "Try me."

The whole room fell silent.

Cole kept his eyes on Callum, staring directly into his eyes with the most menacing glare he could muster.

Callum's eyes widened for a second, he opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked around the room and then frowned. "Oh, so you think you're tough now?"

"I'll kick your sorry ass." Cole threatened. "Don't think you can walk over here and insult my friends. You can insult me all you want, I don't care." He then pointed at Callum. "If you want to say nasty things then say 'em to me, instead of Jay and the others." He gestured to Jay. "You got a really bad attitude and I will sort it out if I have to." He said sternly, raising his voice slightly.

At this point, nobody knew what to say but all of them could tell that Cole was being serious.

He wasn't going to be pushed around.

Lloyd smiled, Cole gave him confidence. "Yeah, Callum. You're not so tough now are ya?" Lloyd stood up too. "You always pick on us, why don't you go find someone your own size?"

"Or, just stop picking on everybody in general, since that's all you do," Kai mentioned standing up.

"I'm not the one for violence or confrontations but I must say you have lost this one," Zane added a small sly smile on his face.

Jay stood up too, without saying anything. Cole looked at him for a split second before grinning. "Let me tell you something. If you pick on them...You go through me first." He smiled, knowing he had won.

"Afternoon class! I'm so sorry that I'm late. I know half the lesson-" The teach burst in and paused halfway through her sentence.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

Callum turned to her. "Miss! These five are picking on me."

"What?" Lloyd piped up. "Come on Callum really? You just came over here-"

"It's true Miss!" One of his friends yelled.

"No, it isn't," Kai said, crossing his arms. "Callum came over here and threatened Cole. The new kid." Kai pointed to Cole.

Cole looked down at the table, pretending to be hurt by Callum's words.

The teacher scowled at Callum. "Callum! You are horrible. Get your butt to the Headmasters office now! How could you pick on Cole? He's new! You are disgusting!"

Cole grinned as Callum dragged himself out of the class.

The five of them sat in their seats as the teacher began the lesson.

"Karma," Cole whispered.

Lloyd chuckled. "You one hundred percent got some fight in ya." He complimented Cole. "I've never seen anything like that."

"Thanks, Cole, we appreciate it," Kai said cheerfully. "We would usually stick up for ourselves but it seemed like you had it under control."

"Indeed so, you do have a way with words." Zane chirped.

Cole scratched the back of his head. "Aw, it was nothing guys. You're my friends now and I feel entitled to protect you." He looked over at Jay, who had a shy smile on his face. "I won't let anything happen to you guys."

"We won't let anything happen to you either," Lloyd said.

"Table at the back. Quiet." The teacher hushed.

After the lesson, Cole walked out of the school gates with his friends. Callum was supposed to be waiting for him but Cole saw him walking off.

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Cole said as he clutched onto his messenger bag.

"Yeah, see ya," Kai said as he walked off with Nya, his skateboard in hand. He said something about walking Nya to her friend's house and then going home.

"I walk the same way as you," Lloyd said as he stood next to Cole. "I'll walk with ya." He smiled.

"Sweet."

"See you tomorrow." Zane waved as he got into the car with his dad.

Lloyd typed away at his phone as Cole and Jay spoke.

"You going to be okay walking home by yourself?" Cole asked, noticing that Callum was walking the way Jay said he had to go.

"Yeah, he doesn't really terrorize me that much when I go home. I'll be fine. I only live half an hour away."

"Half an hour?" Cole blurted. "Dude, I can walk you home." He suggested.

"No, no. It's okay I promise." Jay said holding his hands up in defense. "You don't need to do that. I'll message you if anything happens."

"Okay…" Cole said wearily. "If he hurts you I will kill him." Cole then stated, looking over at Callum who was still walking.

Jay chuckled shyly. "He won't do anything." He then waved. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, stay safe." Cole smiled.

"I will," Jay said as he turned around and walked off.

Cole really wanted to give him a hug before he left. He felt the need to watch over Jay. It was something he didn't expect to feel on his first day.

He turned to Lloyd who was smiling at him.

"What?" Cole asked.

"Nothing." Lloyd lied.

Cole began walking towards his house, Lloyd was beside him.

"Today was interesting," Cole mumbled. "I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Lloyd chortled. "Dude, you've made a name for yourself. People shouldn't mess with you as much." He typed away on his phone. "Trust me, you'll be fine now. Besides you got us now too."

"Yeah…" Cole mumbled.

They fell silent for a moment.

"Does Jay get bullied a lot?" Cole asked quietly.

Lloyd put away his phone. "Yeah, he does. A lot more than he should. He used to stick up for himself but recently he's been kinda quiet and hasn't said a word to anyone really. He keeps himself to himself and is just that quiet kid in the corner you know?" Lloyd made hand gestures.

"I mean, we try our best to protect him but sometimes it doesn't work out." He stated, looking a down at the ground.

"Has he told the headmaster?" Cole asked.

"We all have but honestly, they don't care. My dad is the Vice headmaster and he said that he'd sort it but he hasn't yet." He sighed. "I don't really blame him but you know…"

"We need to get it sorted." Cole declared. "We can't just let it happen."

"I know." Lloyd agreed. "Jay will be okay."

Cole sighed whilst thinking about Jay. Cole has been bullied before so he knows what it's like.

To be constantly tortured with words. It is the worst.

"You care a lot about Jay, don't you?" Lloyd looked at Cole.

"Well, yeah. He's my friend now." Cole murmured. "I know we just met but I feel some sort of connection to him, you know?"

"I understand." Lloyd nodded. "Jay's one of my best friends. He's a great guy. You two will get on really well."

"I'm glad to hear that." Cole sighed.

"Well, this is me." Cole stopped at his gate. "I'll see you tomorrow." Cole pushed opened the gate and walked in.

"Cya." Lloyd waved and walked off.

Cole opened his front door and instantly kicked off his shoes and dropped his bag by the front door. His dad wasn't in right now.

Cole let out a deep breath. He went upstairs into the room and shut his door.

"God today was exhausting." He mumbled to himself. He looked at himself in the mirror.

He still had the flower crown on. He smiled and took it off and placed it on his desk.

He sat down on his bed and reflected on what happened today.

Why did Callum pick on him and Jay specifically?

Cole didn't do anything wrong.

Least he didn't think he did.

Or did he?

Cole shrugged. He couldn't be bothered anymore. The raven-haired teen let out a sigh.

He built a lot of friendships today.

That's great.

Maybe he isn't so unlucky after all.

* * *

(A/n: I apologize about the update schedule being screwed up. I planned on updating every other day but I had some things come up and this chapter took so long to write. 6,532 words in total, minus the A/N. I thought about splitting this chapter up into two parts but I couldn't find the correct cut off point. As I said last time, if you see any mistakes please DM/PM me and I'll fix it right away! Reviews are really appreciated! Thank you for reading.)


	3. Chapter Three: Photography

Chapter Three: Photography.

"Okay, when we go into my room you can't judge me." Jay blocked off his bedroom door. "I'm into weird things."

Cole tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Weird things? What do you mean by weird things? Do you like, dissect animals in your room or something?"

Jay shook his head rapidly. "No of course not!" Jay laughed nervously. "I just…" He paused. "Uh, I like things that other people see as weird…"

Cole smiled and crossed his arms. "Dude, I'm not here to judge. I'm here to hang out, remember?"

Jay sighed and brushed some of his hair behind his ear. Cole found that cute. "Okay, fine." Jay turned his door handle and pushed his bedroom door open. Jay scratched his wrist and walked in. Cole followed him and shut the door behind him.

He looked around in amusement.

His room was pretty sweet.

The walls were blue-grey, his flooring was dark oak. He had a brown and grey fluffy rug by the side of his bed. His bed was king sized. It had a grey duvet hanging neatly over it, with two dark grey pillows stood up against the dark oak headframe.

At the end of his bed, he had a large blue bean bag, that Jay had sat on. Jay's door frames were painted white and he had pictures of animals and landscapes hanging on the walls beside his TV. Cole glanced around some more, noticings Jay's white and blue desk. He had pictures scattered over the mirror and a Polaroid camera sitting on the desk.

Cole looked over at Jay, who was looking at him.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to sit down with me?" Jay asked, he picked up his TV remote and switched on the TV.

"Oh, right." Cole chuckled nervously. "I really like your room." He sat down on the bean bag next to Jay. "It has a nice aesthetic."

"Really? You think so?" Jay picked up a PS4 controller. He pressed a button and his PS4 beeped and switched on.

"Yeah, I really like it...like a lot." Cole looked around some more. He glanced over at the camera on the desk. "Are you into photography?"

Jay froze on the spot for a moment. "Well, uhh…" He looked up at his TV and scrolled through all the games he had installed, "yeah...I am a little." He tapped the PS4 controller against his leg nervously. "...It's not weird, is it?"

"No, of course not." Cole frowned and looked at Jay. "Is that what you meant by 'I'm into weird things'." He made invisible quotation marks.

"Yeah. I get bullied a lot for it. I used to take my camera around with me all the time and take photos but I was absolutely destroyed for it." Jay looked at his PlayStation controller. "I haven't taken a photo with it in ages, I feel judged all the time."

Cole sighed in annoyance. "I hate people like that." He looked up at Jay's TV. "You stopped doing what you liked because other people picked on you for it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm too scared to pick it back up, even when I'm by myself." Jay whispered, looking down.

Cole frowned. He felt enraged. "That isn't fair. You shouldn't have to feel that way." He sighed and bit his lip.

Jay shrugged. "It doesn't matter." Jay took a quick glance at his camera, his heart sinking. He missed being able to take photos and arranging them to create mood boards or portfolios. "Let's play a game or something." Jay passed Cole the controller, you can scroll through the games." He said half-heartedly.

Cole began to scroll through the games. Jay had a lot of them, he wasn't sure what to pick. To be honest, he could tell Jay wanted to drop the whole photography subject but Cole wanted to find out more.

The teen paused and looked over at Jay, who was twiddling with the ends of his hair whilst looking down at the ground. He seemed extremely upset.

"Hey…" Cole whispered. "Can I see your photos?"

Jay gulped and mumbled. "I don't know, I guess I can show you them...if you promise not to judge."

"I promise, Jay. I wouldn't judge you, ever. I'm here to help you and protect you." Cole smiled, rather excited that he gets to learn more about Jay.

The Auburn smiled slightly and took his PS4 controller, he clicked on Spotify and put on a playlist.

All Alone by fun. Began to play. He placed the controller down and walked over to his desk. Cole stood behind him.

"That's a polaroid right?" Cole pointed to it.

Jay nodded, he picked up his camera up. "Yeah, I bought it with money I saved up over the years." He showed Cole his camera, it had stickers on the top of it. One of the stickers was a love heart and the other was a lightning bolt.

Jay then looked over at his mirror, which had photos scattered over it.

"This is something I was working on ages ago," Jay muttered. "It's pictures of the sky."

Cole tilted his head.

"It sounds boring but, if you look closely it's pictures of the sky at different times. Night, Day, Afternoon, Early morning, Late evening. Also, if you look here…" He pointed to a specific area on the mirror. "These are all different shades that the sky can be." Jay picked up one of the photos and moved it to a different spot. "I was working on this for a while, I still need to get a picture of the sunset but I haven't really had the courage too."

Cole stood there in awe. The arrangement and the quality of the pictures were amazing. The whole polaroid aesthetic made it even better. Jay had so many pictures of the sky, all of them were a different shade and each of them looked beautiful.

Cole smiled. "You have talent." He said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"R-Really?" Jay stuttered. "I've never had anyone say that to me before…"

"Honestly, Jay...this is amazing. The colours, the view, everything!" Cole examined the pictures more. "Do you have more stuff like this?"

Jay nodded, "Yeah I have little scrapbooks of it." Jay slowly opened a draw that was beside him. He pulled out a scrapbook that had a picture of a squirrel on the front. "This is one of all the animals around the area we live in." Jay slowly opened it. "I've never shown anyone these before but I trust you."

Cole couldn't help but smile widely. "It means so much to me that you trust me." Cole giggled. "I trust you too."

Cole slowly flipped through the pages, examining every photo. "How'd you even get these shots?"

"I don't know, pure luck I suppose?" Jay chuckled shyly. "Oh, this picture is my favourite." He pointed to a picture of a lily with a butterfly on top. A black Calla lily. "I found it in the woods by itself. I didn't know black calla lilies could grow out here." He said.

Cole stared at it with amusement. "I like lilies." He mumbled to himself.

"Do you know what a black lily represents?" Jay questioned.

"No, but I know a white one means purity and humility," Cole stated.

"A black calla lily means, mystery and elegance. In the rarest cases, it means secret admiration." Jay informed him with a small smile on his face.

"Rarest cases?" Cole questioned.

"Well, by rarest cases I mean if you give it to someone it means you secretly admire them," Jay said whilst scuffing the ground with his foot. "Nya told me that."

Cole looked back down at the picture. He then looked up at Jay. "Do you like lilies?"

"Yeah, I like them quite a lot actually." He grinned.

Cole passed him back the book. "You should take that photo of the sunset you wanted."

Jay shook his head rapidly. "No, no. It's weird to do that."

"No, Jay. It isn't." Cole crossed his arms. "Look, the sun sets in a few hours we can go watch it and you can take a photo of it."

Jay looked at his polaroid. "...Well, I guess…"

"Come on, please?" Cole begged. "It'll make you feel a bit better about yourself." He handed Jay his camera. "I promise."

"Okay, fine." Jay sighed. "But just this once." He put his camera down.

"Yay!" Cole cheered. He had the urge to give Jay a hug suddenly. He looked Jay up and down quickly. His gut tightened and butterflies flew rapidly. He then pulled Jay in for a hug.

Jay froze for a split second, before relaxing and hugging Cole back. He blushed lightly as they pulled away.

"I'm proud of you," Cole mumbled, looking down at the ground whilst twiddling his thumbs. He then lifted his head and looked away from Jay, smiling shyly.

"Thank you…" Jay mumbled, holding onto his belly. His stomach was filled with butterflies.

"We can play games now." Cole pointed to the console.

The two of them sat back down on the beanbag. Jay chose the game and showed Cole how to play it.

They spent hours playing the game, yelling and cheering for each other as they shot at the enemies.

Jay paused the game to look out the window. "The sun is going to set soon."

"What's the time?" Cole asked.

Jay checked his phone. "7:46" He stood up. "Let's head out now, we can sit on my roof."

"Your roof? Is that safe?" Cole asked, standing up also.

"Yeah, don't worry dude. I go up there all the time." Jay smiled, he opened his bedroom door. Cole followed him outside. They stood in his back garden.

"Stay here I'll get the ladder," Jay said. He walked off into his shed.

Cole stared at the ground, thinking.

Did he have feelings for Jay?

'There's no way. I mean, yes I feel weird around him and he makes me happy. I get butterflies around him too. Maybe. No. No way in hell.'

Cole crossed his arms and sighed in annoyance. Did he seriously have a crush on Jay?

Cole glanced to his left, to see Jay carrying a large ladder on his own. It didn't look like he was struggling. Jay walked past him with a blank look on his face and pushed the ladder up against the wall.

"Okay, let's go."

* * *

(A/n: Filler chapter, with an added hug. I'm sorry about the long wait for a filler chapter. As I stated before if you see any mistakes DM me! Thank you!)


	4. Chapter Four: Sunset

Chapter Four: Sunset

As the sun lowered itself into a slumber, Cole and Jay sat on his roof. Jay held his Polaroid camera in his hands, shaking slightly.

"What if the picture comes out stupid? I only have one chance." Jay muttered.

"Jay, the sun sets and rises all the time, you have until you die. Which is so long from now." Cole chuckled.

Jay looked at the orange tinted sky, "You're right, I'm scared that I'll be picked on. Callum literally lives two houses away. What if he sees?"

"He won't bother you, I'm here," Cole stated, looking at Jay. "I promise you, I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore."

Jay felt his stomach drop, butterflies rapidly hit his insides. He giggled shyly.

The auburn haired teen rested his eyes on the sky, watching the clouds roll by.

Cole had his gaze fixed on Jay. He watched as the wind played with his curled hair, the setting sun kissed his face. His electric eyes reflected in the light. He looked peaceful. He looked great…

Cole snapped his eyes away from Jay. His heart beat rapidly. He then rested his eyes back on Jay, he couldn't help it. There was something about him.

Jay took a quick glance at Cole, he knew he was looking but he couldn't say anything. His heart was in his throat, his hands began to sweat.

Cole sighed. He turned his head and began to watch the sunset. "When are you going to take a photo?" He mumbled.

"When the sun is just over those houses…" He pointed to the houses that were sat happily under the sun. "It needs to be just right."

"When did you start getting into this whole photography stuff?" Cole questioned, shuffling closer to Jay.

"Well, it was when I was younger. My mother used to take photos all the time and she used to show me them." He stated quietly. "She used to tell me about how beautiful nature is and about how capturing things at the right time can create a feeling of comfort and warmth." He clutched onto his camera tightly. "This was her camera. She gave it to me before she died."

Cole's heart dropped. His eyes widened for a second. "I'm sorry Jay. I didn't know…"

"It's okay, it isn't your fault…" He sniffed. He took a deep breath, trying not to cry. "Before she passed she told me 'Take this camera and show everyone how beautiful the world really is...I love you.'" He placed his camera on the roof and huddled his knees to his chest. "I was so overwhelmed and upset that I barely managed to say I love you back...I really miss her." He closed his eyes tightly, trying not to show as much weakness as possible.

Cole placed his hand on Jay's back and gently rubbed it. "It's okay Jay, I understand. I lost my mother too, I don't know where she is. My dad won't tell me or he doesn't know either."

Jay looked up at Cole, "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Cole mumbled, he rubbed Jay's back some more. "Is it just you and your dad?"

Jay shook his head, "I'm...adopted, my real dad gave me away."

Cole bit his lip. "Oh, I'm so sorry Jay."

Jay giggled a little. "Stop apologizing, it's okay. It's okay." He moved towards Cole a bit more, his heart pounding. "I'm glad I got to talk to you." He chuckled shyly. "We know more about each other now."

Cole's heart beat faster than the speed of sound. He had his hand placed on Jay's back still. He had the temptation to put his arm over Jay's shoulder and pull him closer. Cole watched the sunset for a moment, the sun would be over the houses soon.

'It's now or never…' he thought.

Jay swallowed his feelings. He hadn't felt like this before, the sense of comfort and peace he had around Cole made his insides feel funny. His face heated up at the thought of Cole pulling him closer.

Jay knew he secretly wanted that…

The freckled teen watched as the sun began to set behind the houses, he has to take the picture soon but he didn't want to move.

Cole breathed in silently and placed his arm around Jay's shoulders, pulling him in closer. Jay stiffened up, his face pure red. He looked up at Cole, who quickly glanced at him and then back at the sky. Jay smiled to himself and then rested his head on Cole's shoulder. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of complete harmony.

Cole didn't know how to feel about the situation he was in. He wasn't going to lie, he enjoyed the feeling but was it right? Was it what he wanted?

Cole looked at Jay, he seemed happy enough to be sitting there. Cole rubbed Jay's shoulder, in a comforting manner. This made Jay nuzzled into Cole unintentionally, it just felt so right to him.

Cole couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Jay...you should take the picture now…"

Jay opened his eyes and looked up at Cole and smiled he then looked at the sun. "Oh, crap! Yeah." Cole removed his arm from around Jay and wrapped his arm around his knees after pulling them closer to his chest.

Jay, on the other hand, scrambled for his camera. He picked it up and stood up. He held the camera to his face, looking through the small lens. He had to get this just right.

Jay stuck his tongue out of his mouth slightly, he does this when he concentrates.

Cole looked at the sky, examining the orange tint, trying to get his mind off the situation he was just in. He heard the shutter click on the camera.

Jay turned his camera around to receive the picture. He took it out of the slot and waved it around in the air. He sat back down and examined the picture, a huge smile was on his face. He turned to Cole and showed him the picture. "I-I did it."

Cole took notice of the picture and how beautiful it was. "Well done Jay, I'm so proud of you." He nudged him and smiled.

Jay giggled. "Thank you." He placed the picture under his camera. "I only did it because of you."

Cole chuckled. "You can finish your sky collection now."

Jay nodded. "Yeah…" He giggled. He shuffled back up to Cole. "We can watch the sun go behind the houses properly now."

Cole nodded. He smiled to himself whilst watching the sun officially vanish. The sky was going from an orangy brown to a blueish-purple.

A car pulled up into Jay's drive.

"That'll be my dad," Cole mumbled to Jay.

Jay nodded, a sad look on his face. "Do you really have to go, right now?" He murmured.

Cole ruffled his hair, "Yes, I do." He chuckled. "I know it's sad." He placed a hand on Jay's shoulder. "Don't miss me too much." He winked at Jay. He got up and climbed down the ladder.

Jay blushed a bright pink and followed Cole down the ladder.

After getting Cole's stuff, Jay walked him to the front door. Cole hugged Jay goodbye and left.

He sat in the front seat of the car.

"Have fun?" Lou asked, watching Cole buckle in.

"Yeah. It was great." Cole smiled. "We watched the sunset."

"Did you? How was it?" Lou pulled out of the drive and began the journey home.

Cole thought about what he did with Jay, the thought of having him close again made his face heat up. "It was really...nice." He mumbled.

Lou took a quick glance at his son. "What's with that look on your face?"

"What look?" Cole questioned, frowning in confusion.

Lou glanced at his son again. "That puppy love look you just had on your face."

Cole shook his head. "I don't understand."

"Are you dating Jay?" Lou asked.

Cole froze up his face red. "What! No! I'm not! We're just friends, oh my god dad no!" He looked out the window. "Why would you even ask that?"

Lou chuckled as he turned a corner. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, dad! God!" Cole scoffed, feeling uncomfortable.

Lou shook his head and pulled up to their house. "Come on, I'll make dinner."

Cole got out the car and followed his dad inside the house.

He went straight to his room and threw his things down.

He paced his room.

He felt so weird, he couldn't describe how he felt.

"Don't miss me too much?!" He yelled to himself, he took off his tie and threw it at the wall. "What am I an idiot? Who says that?!" He exclaimed to no one in particular.

"What was I doing? Why did I do that?" He waved his arms about. "Oh, my god! I'm so dumb." He grabbed a pillow and pushed it against his face, he screamed into. "What is wrong with me." He dragged on his 'e'.

He threw his pillow on his bed. "You idiot, Cole!" He collapsed onto his bed.

He sat in silence for a while, staring at his ceiling. "You have a crush on your friend." He mumbled to himself. He then sat up. "You have a crush...on your friend..." He hid his face in his hands. "Oh no…"

Cole's phone vibrated from behind him. He reached for it and took a glance at it. He had a messaged from Lloyd.

Lloyd: Hey, dude. I've been told some things.

Cole: What. What do you mean?

Lloyd: Jay, told me some stuff.

Cole: Stuff? What stuff?

Lloyd: Oh, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

He sent a few winky faces.

Cole rolled his eyes and sent a quick text to Jay, asking what he'd told Lloyd.

Lloyd messaged Cole again.

Lloyd: So, do you have a crush on Jay, or nah?

Cole paused before replying.

Cole: Why?

Lloyd: Just askin' I mean, with what you pulled today with Jay I assume you do.

Cole: I didn't pull anything.

Lloyd: You liar!

Cole: Lloyd pls.

Lloyd: You like him omg.

Cole: No, shut up.

Jay replied to Cole's message.

Jay: Uhm. I told him about the whole, me leaning on your shoulder whilst we watched the sunset thingy.

Cole smiled. Jay captured his nervousness through text.

Cole: Whyyy?

Jay: I'm sorry! I don't know, I wasn't thinking!

Cole: It's okay, don't worry. He's teasing me about it now. I'm being spammed.

Jay: I told him not too. I figured he'd still do it tho.

Cole grinned at his screen.

Cole: Alright, dude. One second, replying to Lloyd.

Cole went back to Lloyd's conversation.

Lloyd: Come on dude admit it!

Lloyd: That's pretty cute tho.

Lloyd: I can imagine it!

Cole shook his head and chuckled.

Cole: Mmmmm

Cole: Fine. Maybe a little.

Lloyd: OMG I KNEW IT.

Lloyd: awww you two would be so cute together.

Cole: shut up. Jay would never like me in that way.

Lloyd: You never know.

Lloyd: Anyway gtg now bye!

Cole: cya.

Cole shook his head, he returned to Jay's conversation.

Cole: hey man, you still there?

Jay: yeah, you wanna call? It's easier for me.

Cole: oh. Sure.

Jay: sweet, one sec.

Cole stared at his phone for a second. He got comfortable, he sat at the top of his bed with one arm behind his head, leaning back onto his pillows.

His phone ringtone began to go off, he hastily answered the call.

"Hey." Jay's soft voice came through the phone.

Cole couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Cole asked.

"Sorta…" Jay mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Cole questioned.

"It's going to sound weird if I say it," Jay stated.

Cole frowned to himself. "Whatever it is you can tell me."

"Okay but don't take it in the wrong way," Jay said softly. He took a deep breath. "You know, the whole...roof thing?"

"Y...yeah…" Cole stuttered.

"Well, I kinda wanted to talk about it…" He mumbled.

"Oh, well what about it?" Cole asked, worried about Jay's response.

"I don't know how to explain." Jay began to panic slightly on the other end of the phone. "Uh." He hummed. "Uhm…"He stuttered.

Cole sighed. "Relax, Jay. You can tell me anything…"

Jay took a deep breath. "Well, what if Callum saw?"

Cole froze on the spot. He didn't think about that at the time.

"Oh, well...if you're talking about the whole thing where I decided to be an idiot and put my arm around you thing…" He chuckled awkwardly, "then I'd say we're pretty much screwed…"

Jay giggled shyly, "Be an idiot? You weren't an idiot at all, it's okay."

"Are you sure? I literally just yelled at myself for like two minutes because of it…" Cole smiled to himself.

Jay began to giggle. "I promise, it's okay. I didn't mind."

Cole had a rush of butterflies. He loved that feeling when he spoke to Jay. "You didn't mind?"

"Nope, not at all. It was really nice actually…" Jay admitted.

Cole's butterflies sped up rapidly. "Was it?"

"Yeah, it had a nice sense of comfort…" Jay spoke quietly.

Cole chuckled slightly, "Really? I'm glad it did…"

Jay smiled on the other end of the phone. "Me too…"

They both paused for a second.

"You know, I've never felt like this before," Jay admitted.

"Like what?" Cole questioned.

"Fully accepted…" Jay answered. "You make me feel fully accepted…"

Cole let out a small chuckle. "I'm glad I do. You deserve to feel that way.."

"Really…?" Jay asked.

"Really."

Jay giggled, making Cole's heart thump. "I really want to hug you right now."

Cole stiffened, his face heated up and his heart jumped around.

He heard a smack on the other end of the phone.

"Did..did you just hit yourself?" Cole asked.

Jay began to stammered and stutter. "Uhh, n-no! What makes you think that? I didn't accidentally say something I didn't want to say or anything! Nope!" He panicked. "Ahahah…" He laughed nervously.

Cole smiled. "It's okay, Jay. I want to hug you too…"

"Cole!" Lou bellowed from downstairs. "Dinner!"

Cole tutted. "Aw, I have to go."

Jay sighed. "Really?"

"Yeah, dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Cole said, with a sense of comfort in his voice.

"Yeah! See you tomorrow." Jay said cheerfully.

"Bye," Cole mumbled.

"See ya!" Jay said.

Cole hung up and shoved his phone under his bed.

"Cole!" His father bellowed once more.

Cole sighed. "Coming!"

He jumped out of his bed and stood at his door.

He took a deep breath, he had to make sure his face wasn't fully red before going downstairs. Otherwise, his dad would bully him for it. Cole swung open his door and made his way downstairs for dinner.


	5. Chapter Five: Breaking

Chapter Five: Breaking

Cole placed his fork on the table, he wasn't hungry. His head was spinning with thoughts of Jay. He made circles on the table with his finger. He smiled to himself. He currently felt like the luckiest person alive to have met him.

Lou pulled out a chair and sat in front of Cole. He watched his son make circles with his finger. He frowned in confusion, he then watched as Cole picked up his fork and pushed his food around his plate.

Cole's father raised an eyebrow, he cleared his throat to try to get Cole's attention.

Nothing happened.

Lou sighed, "Cole." He called.

No response.

"Cole!" Lou raised his voice.

Cole jumped in his seat and snapped his attention to his father.

"Yeah, dad?" He quickly asked.

"Are you alright?" Lou questioned. "You haven't touched your food and you were ignoring me…"

Cole blushed lightly, Jay coming to mind. "Yeah. I'm great…" He mumbled, trailing off.

Lou nodded at his son. "Okay, if you say so…"

They ate in silence for a little until Cole decided to ask a question. "Dad? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Lou said.

"Is it normal to have a crush on a friend?" Cole asked, looking up at his dad.

"A good relationship starts out with a great friendship," Lou said sternly. "Why?"

Cole's face heated up, he averted his eyes from his father. "N-No reason." He lied, anxiously rubbing his knuckles together.

Lou smirked. "Oh, I see what's going on here…" He chortled. "You like somebody don't you?"

"What! No! You asked me this earlier!" Cole blurted.

"No, Cole...I asked if you were dating Jay. I never asked if you liked somebody…" Lou corrected him. He then paused, a thought hit him. "Unless you like Jay…" He said slyly.

Cole froze on the spot, his face becoming pure red. He raised his shoulders and bit his lip. "Uh…" He gulped. "Well…"

Lou smiled at his son, he laughed. "You do."

Cole hid his face in his hands. "Shut up!" He yelled through his hands, his voice muffled.

Lou watched his son carefully, reading his body language. "You like him quite a lot."

"Shut up! I don't like him THAT much, it's just a small crush. That's all!" Cole declared. He glared at his dad and then frowned. "Besides, he doesn't like me back in that way." He then paused. He sighed. "Unless…" He mumbled to himself.

Cole looked down at the ground, thinking. 'Why would he say that or let me do that then?'

"Maybe he does…" He thought aloud.

Lou grinned at his son, "Ah, young love. Getting overwhelmed and over thinking. If you have a crush on him, you should tell him. You never know, he might like you back." Lou advised.

Cole thought about it for a moment. "Maybe…"

Lou picked at his food. "I didn't know you were into guys."

"Neither did I." Cole chuckled, making Lou laugh.

"Just know I accept that, don't feel that it's a bad thing. Okay?" Lou comforted his son. "If anyone says otherwise, beat them up."

Cole stared at his dad for a moment and then smiled. "Thanks, pa! And, I will beat them up, don't worry."

"That's my boy." Lou grinned.

Cole finished his dinner quickly. "I'm going to bed."

"This, early?" Lou looked over his shoulder whilst Cole left.

"If I sleep now, I wake up quicker which means I can see Jay faster!" Cole yelled at his dad as he ran up the stairs.

Lou shook his head, he looked over at the picture of his wife. "He's just like you isn't he, love?" He mumbled to the picture, a sad smile on his face.

Cole swung open his bedroom door, he shut it behind him and got ready for bed.

He climbed into bed.

He laid still for a moment, thinking. His phone vibrated.

He took it from under the pillow.

Jay messaged him.

Jay: Good Night, Cole.

Cole smiled sweetly at his phone.

Cole: Night, night, Jay!

Cole plugged his phone in to charge, placed it on his bedside table and got comfy.

The next morning, Cole had rushed to get to school. He got there as early as possible and waited at the usual spot.

He knew Jay came to school first since he lived second closest.

Cole sat on the grass.

He picked at it for a few minutes, excited to see Jay again.

He hummed to himself.

"Hey, Cole." A soft voice mumbled.

He looked up and over his shoulder. "Oh, hey Jay…"

Jay looked troubled. Cole tilted his head to the side and watched as Jay sat beside him. "What's the matter?"

Jay shook his head. "Nothing, I'm just tired." He lied, looking at Cole.

Cole gave him the 'I don't believe you' look.

Jay gave him a small smile.

Cole just sighed, deciding not to press the matter.

"Are you okay?" Jay asked.

Cole examined Jay for a moment, extremely worried about him. "Yeah, I'm fine." He lied.

The two of them sat in silence, Cole had a staring competition with his feet.

Jay stared into nothingness.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. "Get off!"

Cole and Jay's heads perked up. Cole looked over his shoulder. "That sounded like Lloyd." He said quickly. He stood up quickly.

Jay stood up as well. "Where did it come from?"

"Hey!" Lloyd yelled again.

Cole followed Lloyd's voice, he was in the playground being held up by the collar by Callum.

Cole and Jay exchanged surprised looks.

"I said, where is he?!" Callum spat.

Lloyd clenched his teeth. "I said, I don't know!"

Cole looked at Jay. "Come on…" He mumbled.

Cole walked up to Callum, Jay behind him.

Lloyd noticed and stared at Cole.

"What are you looking at?" Callum asked.

"Ahem." Cole cleared his throat.

Callum looked over his shoulder and smirked. He dropped Lloyd to the floor. Lloyd let out a gasp. Jay ran to his side and helped him up.

"Ah, I was looking for you." Callum sneered.

"Well, picking on Lloyd isn't the right way to find me." Cole crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Lloyd was adjusting his collar. Jay was rubbing his back.

"I got something to show you?" Callum brought out his phone, Cole frowned in utter confusion.

Callum shoved his phone in Cole's face.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

Cole's face heated up. He looked at Jay and then the phone. He then looked up at Callum.

"What about it?" He asked, trying to keep his cool.

"I'm going to show everybody this." He sneered.

"Show everybody, what?" Lloyd asked.

Callum ignored the blonde and got into Cole's face.

"I won't show them if you do something for me…" He chuckled.

Cole looked at Jay and Lloyd. He then looked back at Callum.

"Lloyd, Jay, could you give us a minute?" Cole asked politely.

"But-" Lloyd began.

"He said a minute!" Callum raised his voice.

Jay slowly dragged Lloyd away, they stood out of hearing range.

"What is it I have to do?" Cole asked.

"Every time I come to talk to you or bash you, you have to take it. Got it?" Callum spat.

Cole frowned. "That's stupid! No!"

Callum waved his phone in the air. "Do you want me to show everyone? Jay will get picked on even more…"

Cole looked over his shoulder at Jay, his heart sunk. He sighed. "Fine, but only if you stop picking on Jay."

Callum put his phone away. "Deal." He then laughed and pushed Cole to the ground. "Loser!" He yelled as he walked off laughing.

Lloyd and Jay ran to Cole's side.

Jay helped him up.

Cole brushed himself off. He watched Callum walk off. He sighed angrily.

"What'd he say?" Jay asked.

"Nothing important." Cole lied. They began to walk back to the usual hang out spot.

Jay, Lloyd and Cole sat down together.

"Seriously, what'd he say?" Lloyd asked, rubbing his neck.

"Just something stupid, don't worry." Cole looked down at the ground. "It doesn't matter."

Jay and Lloyd looked at each other. Jay shook his head, telling Lloyd not to press.

"Okay, if you say so…" Lloyd mumbled.

"Yeah, anyway. Are you okay?" Cole asked, looking up at the blonde.

"Yeah, I'm good." Lloyd smiled awkwardly.

Cole grumbled to himself. He had been put in a bad mood. He phone pinged.

"Ah, damn it. I forgot to put it on silent." He pulled out his phone to see a message from his dad. He read it aloud. "I won't be home until tomorrow, I have a gig with the Royal Blacksmiths…" He tutted and put his phone on silent and then put it away.

"Your dad is with the blacksmiths?" Lloyd asked, surprised.

"Did, Kai not tell you?" Cole asked.

"No," Jay said quietly.

Cole looked at them both. "Well, yeah I guess."

"That's so cool!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Does that mean that you can sing and dance too?" Jay asked, with a smile on his face.

Cole chuckled. "No, I can't. I only draw." He said. "I prefer drawing anyway."

"I'm pretty sure you can dance, you just won't tell us that," Lloyd smirked with his arms crossed.

Cole shook his head and chuckled. "Mhm, sure."

"I'm sure you're a great dancer and singer." Jay complimented Cole, making him smile a bit.

"Aw, look at that. You're not as grumpy now." Lloyd pointed out.

Cole looked at Lloyd. "Shut up." He said shyly.

"Aw, is it because Jay complimented you?" Lloyd said in a teasing voice. "Awwww."

"Shut up!" He raised his voice whilst laughing.

Jay examined Cole, as he continued to tell Lloyd to shut up. He found himself smiling.

Lloyd noticed Jay staring at Cole. He stopped teasing him. He fell silent.

Cole turned to Jay, his eyes widened for a second. "W-What?" Cole asked.

Jay just smiled. "Nothing." He looked away.

Cole's heart began to thump. "No, seriously. What? You were staring."

Jay looked back at Cole. "You look cute when you smile…"

Cole froze up, his eyes wide. His face became bright pink. His heart rate increased.

Lloyd's mouth dropped slightly.

Jay looked away from Cole, to hide his blushing face. He was internally screaming inside. He didn't mean to say that.

Jay stood up. "Excuse me." He began to walk away from them.

Cole watched as Jay hastily walked around the corner and out of sight.

The raven-haired teen slowly turned back to Lloyd, the look of shock on his face.

On the other hand, Lloyd had a big smirk on his face.

"I thought you said he didn't like you?" Lloyd grinned.

Cole began to stammer and stutter. "H-He doesn't. It was just a compliment." He crossed his arms and looked away.

Lloyd raised his eyebrows. "Now, you know for a fact that's not the case."

Cole adjusted his tie and then brushed some of his hair out of his face. "I don't know, Lloyd."

"Come on! He so likes you!" Lloyd exclaimed.

Cole chuckles slightly. "I highly doubt it."

"Well, I mean you like him," Lloyd smirked.

"Only a little!" Cole exclaimed.

Lloyd laughed at Cole. He shook his head. "I wonder where he went?"

Cole nodded. "Me too…"

"Aww, does Cole miss his boyfriend?" Lloyd cooed.

Cole growled. "He's not my boyfriend!" He yelled.

Lloyd chuckled to himself, a large sly smile over his face.

Cole shook his head. He scowled at Lloyd and then looked away. He watched the winds tickle the grass with its delicate hands. He looked over his shoulder at the direction that Jay went. He began to think.

What if something bad was happening to him?

What if he was being hurt?

Cole started to other think. He was panicking. "I-I'm going to find Jay." He blurted frantically, worried. Cole darted up and sped walk to find Jay. He passed Kai on the way, who watched him curiously.

Cole began to search the hallways. Whilst searching, he thought about the picture Callum showed him.

It was of him and Jay on the roof…

Cole knew it was a stupid idea to let into his urges.

The raven-haired teen let out a sigh and shook off his thoughts. He needed to focus on finding Jay.

He wandered around the hallways.

Until he got stopped.

"Hey!" Sabrina walked up to him, she flicked her long silver hair from her eyes and smiled. "Where are you off to?" She smiled, putting her hands behind her back. She pushed her chest forward slightly.

Cole looked her up and down, she gave him a weird vibe.

"I'm looking for Jay." He said, "Have you seen him?" He asked.

Sabrina put his finger on her lip and tapped it a few times, she looked towards the ceiling and hummed. She then smiled. "Nope!" She said in a cheerful tone.

Cole couldn't tell if she was trying to be cute or if she was usually like this. Cole looked over his shoulder to see Callum, Sabrina's boyfriend, glaring at him.

He knew he had to go before Callum came over.

"Okay, well thanks anyway." He waved her off and walked past her, he made his way towards the study room. Almost no one goes in there. Least that's what Cole heard.

He went to push open the door when he heard talking.

"Hey, freak! Don't ignore me!" A voice snarled.

He heard a rupture of laughter after a loud thump.

He heard a small whimper.

"Who said you could get up? Sit back down! You geek!"

Cole frowned, was that Jay in there?

"Aww, did mummy buy this for you?" he heard one of them say. He then heard a loud smash, and then the patter of parts scattering.

Cole pushed open the door, hard. It slammed against the wall. He held the door in place. He clenched his teeth at the sight before him.

Jay was on the floor, staring at Cole with complete helplessness.

Three boys were surrounding him. Next to one of the boy's feet was Jay's prized possession. His mother's camera. It was shattered, to pieces. Sprawled across the ground.

Cole looked down at the shattered camera, then at Jay who was slowly shuffling away from everyone. He then looked at the boys.

Cole walked in and slammed the door behind him. He helped Jay up and didn't say a thing. He then snapped his head to the boys.

"Who did that?" He pointed to the camera, looking at all of them individually.

Nobody owned up. They all looked at each other.

"Who cares? What are you going to do?" One of them teased.

"I care. And I'll kick your ass." Cole threatened.

"As if, there's three of us and one of you!" The other one snarled with a big grin.

"What do you think Jay is going to help you?" They began to laugh.

Cole turned his whole body to them, his fist clenched.

"Aw, such a shame that's this camera broke." The boy stomped on it even more. Cole could feel Jay tense up from behind him.

"Callum was right about you, you're nothing but an attention seeking, freak." The boy snarled, looking at Jay. "You deserve everything that's bad to happen to you."

Jay hugged himself and looked at the ground.

Cole let out some sort of growl. He gently grabbed Jay's wrist. "Let's go."

Jay followed willingly.

"Aw, look. You're just going to run away." They snickered. "How, pathetic!"

Cole stopped at the door. He opened it and Jay stood in the doorway.

He looked over his shoulder.

"You're nothing but a-"

Cole swiftly grabbed the boy by his collar, he lifted him up.

He friend stood in shock as the boy closed his eyes.

Cole made contact with his fist to the boys face. He let go and the boy dropped to the floor.

Cole stood there with his fist raised, staring down at the boy with pure hatred.

"Alex, are you okay?" His friends called, running to his side.

Cole stared for a little longer.

One of the boys picked up Alex and snarled at Cole. "You prick!" They ran out of the room, with Alex, pushing Jay from the doorway at the same time.

Cole looked over his shoulder.

Jay stood there, shaking.

Gently, Cole approached him. Jay stood there.

Cole shut the door and examined Jay.

He had his arms crossed, holding onto himself. His head was lowered and he looked as if he was going to collapse. He gently placed both of his hands on Jay's shoulders.

"Hey…" He whispered calmly, trying to control his rage.

Jay sniffed, he looked up at Cole. Tears streaming down his face.

The slightly taller boy's heart cracked. His eyes widened for a second, his body unable to handle the look on Jay's face.

The look of pure helplessness and shame.

"Hey, hey...no don't cry. It's okay." Cole whispered, he cupped Jay's face and wiped away some of his tears.

Jay bit his lip, trying to contain all of his emotions. "I-I'm sorry." He squeaked through his cries.

"Don't apologize, you did nothing wrong…" Cole said, smiling at him gently. "It's okay…" He let go of Jay's face.

Jay's shoulders raised and lowered as he tried to contain his pain, he sniffed and wiped his face continually trying to get rid of his weakness but the tears kept rolling.

Cole watched as Jay lowered his head again. He began to bawl. Cole looked over at Jay's broken camera.

He then looked back at Jay. He lifted his head up with his index finger and thumb. Jay stared at Cole. His electric blue eyes were grey. "It's okay, shh, shh. Don't worry." He comforted Jay. "It's okay."

Jay sniffed. He pulled Cole in for a tight hug and cried into his shoulder. Cole hugged him back just as tight and couldn't do anything but listen to his cries. If only he didn't stand outside for that long, he could have saved Jay's camera too.

Jay felt safer now. He was so happy and so lucky that Cole came. He nuzzled into Cole's neck, his cried softening up. It had been about ten minutes now.

He had been in Cole's arms to ten minutes.

Class started some time ago.

Jay didn't want to go to class.

The auburn haired teen leaned out of Cole's shoulder. He sniffed and looked up at Cole, who was looking at him with complete concern.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to cry for that long." Jay whispered.

Cole shook his head. "It's okay…" He cupped Jay's face and rubbed his cheek with his thumb. "Everything will be okay…"

Jay leaned a bit into Cole's hand. "Thank you…" He whispered.

Cole removed his hand. "It's nothing. I'm glad you're safe now." He whispered back.

"I'm sorry about your camera…" Cole looked at it.

Jay slowly walked over and kneeled by it, he began to pick up the pieces.

Cole sighed and helped him.

"I'll get you a new one," Cole said, handing over the broken pieces.

Jay paused for a moment and then took the pieces off Cole. He looked down at them and sighed.

"It's okay, you don't have too."

Jay dropped the pieces into the bin, his body felt cold.

He was torn up about it.

Cole watched as Jay slowly tipped the broken camera into the bin. His eyes were cold. His body was stiff.

Jay looked out the window that was next to the bin.

The room was silent. Cole could feel Jay's emotional trauma. He could sense how much he hurt.

Jay clenched his fist, he was angry, he was upset. He couldn't describe what he felt.

He couldn't. Jay let out a long sigh.

His arms hurt.

The bullies had punched him and pushed him. Then they stole his camera and ruined it.

Just his luck.

The auburn haired teen could feel Cole staring at him. He looked over his shoulder to meet Cole's gaze. Cole stood up and walked over to Jay.

"It's okay…" He said to Jay.

Jay walked over to his bag and picked it up. Cole picked his bag up too.

"I'm not going to class today," Jay mumbled. "I'm going out."

"Wait, I'll come with you." Cole quickly said. "Just to make sure you're safe."

Jay sighed and then nodded, he took Cole to the outside of School.

Cole had his eyes on Jay the whole time.

Skipping school wasn't really Cole's thing. Cole sighed. It probably wasn't Jay's either...


	6. Chapter Six: Two Steps Forward

Chapter Six: Two Steps Forward.

"We can go to my house…" Cole mumbled as he and Jay hastily walked out of school.

Jay hadn't said anything, he was silent.

"My dad isn't in until tomorrow…" Cole added, watching Jay grit his teeth.

Jay let out an angry sigh, his blood was boiling. "Okay." He said blankly.

Cole nodded and looked away from Jay. They slowly walked towards Cole's house.

The raven haired teen ran through what happened in his head.

Callum has a picture of them if Cole doesn't listen to him; Jay will be bullied even more.

Cole will presumably be beaten up but he has to take it.

Jay got verbally injured today, the camera got ruined.

Why did he have it on him anyway?

Did Cole give him the spirit to start taking photos again?

Cole averted his gaze onto Jay, he studied him. He looked distressed and tainted. Cole could read his body language. He was also infuriated but he was carrying it very well.

Once the boys reached Cole's house, Cole opened the door.

He let Jay in.

Both of them dropped their bags and took off their shoes.

"Are we going to get in trouble for this?" Cole inquired, looking around his empty house.

Jay shrugged, "Probably."

Cole breathed and took Jay to his room.

He shut the door behind them.

Jay glanced around and then sat on Cole's bed.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Cole asked Jay, sitting next to him.

"I don't know." Jay stood up and began to pace the room. "I don't know what to feel."

"Explain to me, what you're thinking," Cole spoke gently.

"I want to break something, I want to scream I want to just-" He trailed off, picking up the pace.

Jay began to let out sounds of rage, he covered his face and stood still.

Cole stood up and stood in front of Jay, he grasped his wrists and moved his hands away from his distressed face.

Jay peered up at him. Cole held onto his wrists lightly. "How do I calm you down?" He asked tenderly.

The blue eyed teen moved his head, "I don't know. I need a distraction."

Cole looked around his room, his eye caught a picture of his family. His mother included. He then had an idea, he glanced over at his radio. He let go of Jay's wrists and wandered over to it, turning it on.

Reposing music seeped out of the speakers. Cole returned to Jay and clasped his wrists once more.

Jay scowled in confusion.

Cole looked at Jay with a sweet smile. "Follow my lead…" Cole casually put one of Jay's hands on his shoulders. Jay frowned at Cole again.

"Hey, what are you-"

Cole placed one of his hands around Jay's waist, he pulled him in lightly. Jay stiffened and stared at Cole. He then held Jay's other hand and lifted it up.

"Just, follow," Cole uttered.

Cole took two steps forward, causing Jay to take one back. The freckled teen looked down at their feet, they began to move in sync. Cole watched Jay tentatively, he felt him loosen up.

Jay looked up at Cole and smirked as they slowly moved around his room. They tiptoed in small circles, releasing all their worries through the music.

They danced in sync, Cole closed his eyes to listen. Jay studied him, he looked at peace. Jay blinked a few times, he then smiled to himself and moved in towards him slightly. He felt supported and shielded...

Cole opened his eyes to see Jay looking down shyly. They were still moving in sync and Cole could tell that Jay was much calmer. Eventually, the music drowned out any other sound.

The world had stop spinning and the only thing Cole could see was Jay. Everything was about Jay…

Cole slowly spun Jay around, watching his curls move with the breeze. He then pulled him in. Jay swallowed, nervous.

Cole gently let go of Jay's hand, he ran his fingers along Jay's wrist and down his arm eventually encasing his hands around his waist. Jay lowered his hand and wrapped them around Cole's neck. Cole pulled Jay in closer, now they were swaying side to side together.

The two locked eyes, letting their gazes speak.

Cole loved Jay's gorgeous blue eyes, the way that they glistened when the sunlight touched them. He loved Jay's freckles and how they dotted his face. He loved his beautiful smile…

He cherished everything.

Which was strange. Love, at first sight, doesn't exist, least that's what Cole thought. That's what he was told.

But then why was he so enticed to Jay?

Was it his understanding heart?

His broken soul?

His glistening eyes?

What was it about him that made him so attractive?

Jay's face flamed up, he leaned into Cole's chest to hide it. Cole was somewhat startled by Jay's abrupt movement. The slow music began to fade out, soon the radio announcers would talk.

Jay leaned away from Cole slightly and looked up, a humble but sweet smile on his face. He looked at Cole with half-lidded eyes. Cole looked back at him the same way. Cole then dipped him and held him there. His grasp was firm on Jay's waist, holding him in place.

They watched each other, neither of them needed to say a thing.

The freckled teen found himself drifting towards Cole's lips.

Cole blinked and let out a small giggle, he wanted this to happen he knew he did. Their hearts beat in sync.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump...

They got closer, their lips hindering one another.

"And that was The Night We Met by Lord Huron." The radio announced boomed, making Jay and Cole jump out of each other's arms.

The radio announcers began to talk, Cole rushed to turn the radio off. He peered over his shoulder at Jay, who was fiddling with his fingers. He was looking down at the ground.

Cole's heart was hammering in his chest. He face was heated and he was sweating nervously. Cole wiped his face and took a deep breath.

He smiled to himself, it was a small grin. "Do you feel better?" Cole asked quietly.

Jay nodded, slowly. He didn't look up at Cole.

Both of them knew that they almost kissed.

That was saying something.

All the signs added up.

'Maybe it was just an "in the moment" thing…' Cole thought to himself. He stared at his radio. The song lingered in the back of his mind. Cole pressed his hand against his chest. He could still feel Jay's warmth. He heard Jay sit on his bed. Cole walked over to him and sat down with him.

"Hey, what's the matter? I thought you felt better?" Cole asked, lifting Jay's head up with his fingers.

Jay bit his lip. "I do feel a bit better, I'm just upset about my camera." He sighed, "I was going to show you something." He stated. "I wanted to take a picture of us all." He smiled to himself. "I know that you and I have gotten pretty close and the others all enjoy having you around." He looked away from Cole. "I wanted to put it in my friendship scrapbook but I can't now…"

Cole could feel Jay's pain. "We'll get you a new one." He gently placed his hand on Jay's. Jay looked down at their hands, he sighed to himself.

"It's fine," Jay said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"Why?" Cole asked, removing his hand.

"I was told to not bring it and I did anyway," Jay mumbled. "It's my fault. If I go home I'm probably going to be yelled at and I don't think I can deal with that right now." Jay sighed and covered his face with his hands. He was suddenly distressed again.

Cole patted him on the back. "You can stay here if you want." He mumbled.

Jay quickly snapped his head to Cole. "Seriously? Won't your dad be mad?"

"Well if he finds out I skipped school he will be but he's not home until tomorrow so…" Cole smiled slightly.

Jay nodded. "If that's okay with you…"

Cole beamed. "Of course it is!" He then chuckled.

Jay smiled at him, thankfully. He then shuffled closer to him and rested his head on Cole's shoulder. Cole didn't expect that he let out a short gasp and then looked down at Jay.

The freckled teen had his eyes closed, he let out soft breaths. "Thank you." He mumbled.

Cole rubbed his back. "It's okay."

Jay lifted his head for a second. "Why don't you put on a film or something?"

Cole giggled and then nodded, "Got it." He searched through his DVDs. He picked a random film and put it into his DVD player.

Cole didn't have Netflix or anything like that. He shrugged.

"I'm gonna go get changed." He told Jay after throwing him the TV remote. Cole grabbed some comfy clothes and then walked into his bathroom.

Jay watched him close the door. He took off his tie and unbuttoned his top button. He placed his tie on the bedside table. He then moved himself to the top of Cole's bed. He sighed and rubbed his feet together. He heard the door click open.

Cole walked out. He chucked his school clothes in the laundry basket.

He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt that had grey and black stripes on the arms. The Torso part of the top was dark grey. He had black shorts on and white socks. Cole took a hairband off of his desk. He tied his hair up into a ponytail. He paused for a moment to look at Jay.

Jay ripped his eyes away from Cole. He was staring.

Cole chuckled to himself. He finished tying up his hair. He shut his curtains and got onto the bed. Jay shuffled up so Cole could get on.

Cole's bed wasn't that big, so they were touching at all times.

The film was about to start, Cole looked at Jay. "Do you want a drink?"

Jay jumped slightly from the question. "Uh, n-no I'm okay."

Cole nodded and turned back to the TV. Cole started feeling nervous. He bounced his leg.

The blue-eyed teen watched Cole curiously. He began to fidget. He kept brushing his hair behind his ear and moving it out of his face.

Jay could sense his anxiety.

The auburn haired teen knew he liked Cole and he guessed that Cole liked him. He looked Cole up and down. He enjoyed being close to Cole, but he couldn't bring himself to ask him out…

He couldn't do any of that.

Jay shuffled slightly, sitting up more.

Cole adjusted himself after so he could sit up. Cole looked at Jay from the corner of his eye. His face was red and he was in deep thought. Cole turned his head completely to look at him. He gazed at his lips for a moment. His chest tightened for a split second. Cole then chuckled to himself and smiled.

That snapped Jay out of thought, he turned to look at Cole. He was laughing quietly to himself.

"What's so funny?"

Cole laughed some more and then brushed some of his hair behind his ear. "You look adorable when you're nervous…" He flirted. He then giggled again. "I'm sorry but I can't help but laugh and I don't know why." Cole chuckled again.

Jay's eyes widened a little but not with fear, with amazement. Cole looked amazing right now.

Least, in Jay's eyes he did.

Jay let himself smile lovingly at Cole's happiness.

Cole stopped laughing after catching Jay's gaze, he smiled nervously at him.

Jay grinned and placed a hand on Cole's cheek, he pulled him towards him.

Cole froze up for a second.

Jay rubbed his nose against Cole's, giggling.

The slightly taller teen released a quiet sigh and then rubbed Jay's nose back.

Jay then leaned away and then smiled widely.

"I suddenly don't regret everything that's happened." He whispered.

"Really?" Cole asked. "Why's that…?"

"I got to dance with you, spend time with you and be with you!" Jay admitted, he removed his hand from Cole's face.

Cole felt his heart tighten, his stomach turned upside down. "Uhh…"

Jay chuckled, "I thought you said you couldn't dance?" Jay then smiled,

Cole laughed nervously. "Well, I might have lied a bit…"

Jay gave Cole a smirk. "You're good at dancing."

Cole chuckled. "Come on, it was nothing special…"

"It felt special." Jay admitted. "Didn't it?"

Cole blushed, "Well, y-yeah…" He stuttered.

'Where did this come from? Where's nervous Jay gone?' Cole mentally asked.

Jay sighed happily. He turned his attention back to the TV. "Good, I'm glad it felt that way for you too…"

The two of them paid attention to the TV. Their thoughts swirling around their minds.

Did they like each other?

A few hours passed the two of them laughed at movies and discovered more about each other, becoming closer and closer by the second.

Cole forgot everything for a second, how Callum was threatening him, how Jay's camera was broken…

The raven-haired teen lost his smile. He stared blankly at his bedside table. He was in a really bad situation here. He thought about the picture; about how Jay doesn't know and how he'll have to take a beating for the rest of his life. He let out a small sigh. He noticed that the sound of the TV had stopped.

Cole looked over his shoulder to see Jay staring at his phone in complete horror.

Cole's heart sank. If this was what he thought it was, he was in some trouble.

"What's the matter?" Cole asked, his voice shaky. His heart was pounding and not in a good way.

Jay took a deep breath, he sat up straight and showed Cole his phone. "This." He growled.

Cole didn't want to look, he stared at Jay for a minute. His eyes couldn't move.

"What?" Jay asked, "Why aren't you looking?"

Cole clenched his teeth and looked.

Yup, just what he expected.

His eye twitched, he gulped and then let out a sigh. He didn't know how to react right now.

"I told you he saw!" Jay exclaimed. Jay climbed off of Cole's bed.

"He's posted it all over Instagram! Are you kidding me?"

Cole frowned. "Wait, but he said to me-" He then stopped himself from talking. He covered his mouth and looked over at Jay, his eyes wide.

Jay had his mouth dropped slightly, he was looking at Cole with complete and utter disbelief. "You knew about this?" He asked, his voice cracking.

Cole's blood pressure increased. He felt hot and bothered. He began to sweat, his hands were clammy. "I-" He began. He stared at Jay, he was waiting for an answer.

He couldn't lie to him. "I did." He finally said, with a voice of defeat.

Jay glared at him with complete hatred. The look in his eyes made Cole shiver. "That's it. I'm not staying here!"

"You set me up." He spat. "You set me up! Didn't you?!"

Cole shook his head and stood up from his bed. "No! No, I didn't I swear!"

"All this protecting and getting to know me was a trap! You've been on his side all along." Jay declared.

Cole could not let Jay believe this. "No, Jay-"

"Don't talk to me!" Jay yelled. "You're a liar."

Cole put his hands up in defence. "No, Jay I swear…" He trailed off.

"I knew it was too good to be true," Jay mumbled.

Cole's chest clenched around his heart and crushed it. The hazel-eyed teen stared at Jay with more than just shock. "Jay, please…"

Jay began to tear up. He frowned. "I can't believe I almost kissed you!" He yelled. "You were probably going somehow have a picture of that too! Who dances with someone to keep them calm?!" He threw his hands up in the air.

"Jay, no it's not like that! It's not like that at all!" Cole exclaimed. Was he about to lose his friend?

"What is like then?" Jay asked, clenching his fists.

'I am seriously going to tell him I like him, right now? He can probably tell already…'

Cole looked away from Jay and then back at him. The words wouldn't leave his mouth.

"Exactly." Jay spat. "That's what I thought."

Jay turned on his heels and headed for the door. "I can't believe I told you all my sorrows and woes, just for you to betray me." Tears ran down his face, he bit his lip. "You know, suddenly...I regret meeting you..."

Cole stood there, he couldn't say anything. He felt as if his mouth was glued shut.

Jay glared at him one last time, before storming down the stairs. Cole could hear him picking up his bag, putting his shoes on and then leaving.

The front door slammed shut.

Cole lowered his hands. Nothing could describe how he felt right now. He wobbled towards his bed and sat down. He hid his face in his hands. Callum lied to him.

Why was he such an idiot? Why did he fall for that? Cole growled to himself.

He stood up and kicked his bedside table. "I'm such an idiot!" He screamed to himself. The bedside table wobbled and Jay's tie fell off. Cole paused for a minute and picked it up. He rubbed his thumb along it.

He missed him already.

He missed him so much…

Cole placed Jay's tie back on his bedside table. He sat on his bed in defeat. The unluckiest person alive?

That was Cole right now. Least, that's how he felt.

Cole ran his fingers through his hair. He fell back onto his bed. This was not good.

At all.

What was he supposed to do now?


End file.
